Smart Aging: Healthy Futures
Fifty-two percent of older Mississippians live in rural areas, and over eighty percent of elderly Mississippians live in their own family dwellings. The challenge for Mississippi is finding ways to maintain and improve the health of our senior residents while ensuring them the freedom of residing in their own homes. This is especially true for rural areas with less formal support for seniors’ health and well being.
Based upon that need, the Smart Aging: Healthy Futures project was developed by Mississippi State University Extension Service, with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture, to help communities foster the healthy aging of their senior populations.
The project has three primary objectives:
- To identify specific community resources and deficits relative to supporting the health and health care needs of a community’s rural senior population
- To engage communities in grassroots efforts to improve the health and health care accessibility of their rural senior populations
- To initiate various health promotion activities and educational programs targeting rural aging populations within communities and their families and support systems
The project was originally conducted in Oktibbeha, Clay, Copiah and Lincoln Counties. In Copiah and Lincoln counties, the project was directed in cooperation with Copiah – Lincoln Community College. Early successes led to the project being expanded to include the city of Pascagoula. Findings of and materials produced for the project are here to assist other communities and seniors throughout the state as we all work towards the goal of achieving a healthy future.
Publications
News
Zucchini is a versatile and budget-friendly vegetable, and this recipe takes a popular kitchen staple to the next level without a lot of prep time. I like to make these on nights when I want something a little more fancy than sliced zucchini with my meal. It’s also a terrific entrée for your friends or family members who don’t eat meat but will eat dairy and eggs.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The saying goes that tough times bring out the best and worst in people. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception, and consumers need to be wary of potential fraud related to the vaccine as it is rolled out.
Those who have not yet scheduled an appointment to receive their first dose will be waiting another month. On Jan. 15, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported that appointments may be limited until late January, as most of the state’s available vaccine inventory had already been scheduled or distributed.
A new year often signals a new start or reboot, which is a great thing. For many, this means setting health and wellness goals like losing weight, eating healthier, and being more physically active.To be able to achieve your goals and make your resolutions a reality, your goals need to be realistic and measurable.
The Mississippi State University Extension Service Head Start Program in Harrison County is proving resilient in safely living up to its mission of easing the transition to school for families with young children.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Researchers from the Mississippi State University Extension Service are looking to collect row-crop farmers’ feedback on stress related to farming.
The focus group sessions are part of the MSU Extension opioid prevention campaign PReventing Opioid Misuse In the SouthEast, or the PROMISE Initiative.
Participation involves answering a series of questions about farming, stress related to farming and the opioid epidemic. If a row-crop farmer agrees to participate in a focus group, the total time commitment will be two hours.
Success Stories
Variety trials exemplify Extension’s service to growers through pandemic
For 10 years, a small portion of Moody Farms in Tishomingo County has been sectioned off for cotton variety trial plots. That streak continued in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lexington coalition organizes food giveaway amid pandemic
When the Guardian (U.S. edition) released its article “In the poorest county, in America’s poorest state, a virus hits home: ‘Hunger is rampant’” in early April 2020, a local coalition in Holmes County had already organized to create a food pantry in Lexington.
4-H’er creates instructional video
4-H’ers learn by doing, pandemic or no pandemic. So, even though Aaron Lampley could not meet with the Winston County Photography Club, he could leverage technology to increase his own skills and share his expertise with other photo enthusiasts.
Extension supports city clerks during pandemic
Many things about the way Jo Ann Robbins did her job changed when coronavirus hit.
“The COVID-19 pandemic impacted my work and my personal life in ways I never dreamed possible”
4-H’er uses tech to unite club, serve community
Not many teens—or adults, for that matter—know the ins and outs of Robert’s Rules of Order, but 17-year-old Chasity Moses is making a habit of knowing and doing things that set her apart.
Watch
Conversations about Coronavirus: Interview with Wayne Madkin
Monday, April 27, 2020 - 11:30am
